Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $251.27 and last traded at $266.84. 56,051,179 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 93,511,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TSLA shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Tesla from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Tesla from $420.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $440.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Tesla from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $317.75.

Tesla Stock Up 4.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $314.87 and a 200 day moving average of $323.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $902.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.49, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 2.50.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.08). Tesla had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.56, for a total value of $2,894,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,063,565.40. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.63, for a total transaction of $41,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,222,802. This trade represents a 94.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 477,228 shares of company stock worth $166,849,043. Insiders own 20.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Tesla by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its position in Tesla by 193.3% during the fourth quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 88 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.